Peep World to Be Replaced by Equally Obscene Gastropub

June 24, 2011

Scarcely a week seems to pass that doesn’t bring news ofsomevestige of New York being remade in the image of the upwardly mobile, possibly inebriated, and very vanilla young men and women who want to make the city their own, or at least cover it in vomit.

And this week is no exception: Peep World, the long-standing porno emporium across Eighth Avenue from Madison Square Garden, is closing to make room for the second location of Overlook Lounge, a Turtle Bay nightspot. DNAinfo reports that the space will be renovated into a “very large gastropub,” complete with a retractable roof.

Overlook’s manager told CB5’s community safety committee (which unanimously voted in favor of the plan) that the restaurant will be a more appealing sight for arriving tourists than a porn shop. We’re not ones to mourn an establishment that makes money by objectifying women, but somehow, this seems like a much greater obscenity.

Not everyone, however, is so inclined to look favorably upon the specter of drunken frat boys and their ilk. Last night, DNAinfo reports, members of CB6’s Business Affairs and Street Life Committee pondered a draft resolution that would ban organized bar crawls. CB6 has been considering the issue ever since some exceptionally excessive St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Murray Hill and its surroundings; judging by the board’s strong feelings about the possible ban, you might want to wear waders the next time you’re on Second Avenue on a Sunday morning.

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